Post by Steven Dale
Alright. I know I complain about the nomenclature issue a lot, but this is getting ridiculous.
Planetizen published the following update on the approved London Thames Cable Car (Gondola):
London Approves Aerial Tram Over River
An aerial gondola system will be built over the Thames River in London ahead of the 2012 Summer Olympics.
“Expected to complete by July 2012, the cable cars would run 50m above the water and, according to Mayor Boris Johnson, would be ‘as good as a bus route with 30 buses on it’.
Johnson, said: ‘With permissions signed and sealed we are now a significant step closer to being able to cruise the east London skyline via an elegant cable car spanning the mighty Thames.'”
Officials estimate that the gondola system will be capable of transporting 2,500 people per hour over the river.
I’m not going to bother breaking it down for people. It’s pretty straightforward. A Gondola is this; an Aerial Tram is this and; a Cable Car is either this or this. They are different. This wasn’t my decision, it’s just the way it’s been for decades.
Gondola, Aerial Tram and Cable Car are not synonyms for the same technology. And every time they’re used as synonyms, it only complicates matters for people who are actually trying to understand the technology.
Planetizen should know better.
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Want more? Purchase Cable Car Confidential: The Essential Guide to Cable Cars, Urban Gondolas & Cable Propelled Transit and start learning about the world's fastest growing transportation technologies.
